To Save A Life
by Floating On A Thought
Summary: "I heard him, and he brought me back! Because he loved me, and the love I have for him, even death couldn't separate us! But you wouldn't understand that! I love him, and my darling baby with all that I am!" Sequel to Seal.


_**Warnings: Slight language.**_

The wind whipped past her, pulling moisture out of her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was her body's reaction or tears. She continued to run across the water's surface towards the demon, towards Madara, towards her husband. The water suddenly crested, and she compensated by increasing her chakra input onto the water. This, unfortunately, informed the two _very _angry men.

They both whipped around towards the disturbance, both of their eyes wide when they saw a princess running toward them, glowing slightly with chakra. Hashirama was the first to break out of it.

"Mito! What are you doing here? Get away from here!" He screamed hoarsely. He felt overwhelming horror when she ignored him, and kept her course steady. The fox roared at her, finally noticing her presence, and Madara glared at the Senju's wife.

Her kimono was in tatters down her front, but she was still decent, and her hair was half hanging out of her normally immaculate hairstyle. She held her hands in a ram seal and was gazing determinedly at the fox. His eyes widened in shock, before he cursed loudly.

"Don't you bloody dare, Senju! I'll kill you before you even try it!"

Hashirama glanced at his foe slightly confused and furious at his threat, before coming to the same realisation after seeing the seal stuck to his wife's stomach. Oh no…

"Mito! No! Don't-"

"Are you just going to stand there Hashi? Damn well help me! I need you! Hold him down! Both of them!"

Hashirama threw his enemy a slightly frustrated but hardening look before roots exploded out of the ground and wrapped around the man. He infused them with his chakra, as this seemed to halt his space/time technique for a little while, he had found out sometime during the battle. An insane roar erupted from the Uchiha.

She ran towards the rapidly angering fox, avoiding its rage-filled swipes as best she could. Her own chakra seemed to burst out from herself, and formed chain-like ropes that surrounded the beast like a spider's web. It was exhausting, and robbed her of quite a bit of energy. She had lashed out like that completely on instinct, but it seemed to have worked.

She felt the displacement in the air as horror shot through her. Oh no. The whole world seemed to slow down as she swung around, watching with a sort of angered acceptance as a tail ripped through the part of the chain she had yet to strengthen and speed towards her. She felt herself be pushed to her knees on the water and reacted to it by rolling onto her back, barely missing the tail that could have killed her. She heard the cracking of wood as the tail swept past her, and knew she had Hashirama to thank for her life. She pushed herself up awkwardly, and winced as a battering hit was felt against the wall of her stomach. It seemed the demonic chakra was affecting her little baby even through the healing kind.

She pushed more chakra into the chains, and watched as more wrapped around the remaining tail. Suddenly, the great and feared Nine-Tails was being held down by chains originating from her body. They weren't real chains, but she could still feel them be pulled as the fox tried to free himself.

She glanced up at the snarling face, before making a noise that sounded like a scream as a kunai raced past her face. She looked wide-eyed to where the knife had originated from, and noticed Hashirama standing with his back to her, working to stop Madara from reaching her. Her beloved husband had pulled out all the stops; his face and the parts of his body she could see were covered in dark brown, almost black tattoos shaped like leaves. He had initiated the most difficult part of his affinity – becoming almost part of the flora himself. It was extremely exhausting, and if he stayed in that state for too long… well, there would be serious consequences. She had to act now.

She turned her back to her husband and his rival, before once again concentrating on the fox that was growling and snapping to be free. She walked forward slowly, towards the closest part of it – one of its tails. She stopped just before it, and took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

However, a loud screeching sound alerted her to the coming danger. The chains around the beast were starting to break, and two seconds later, she heard one of them snap.

Her mind made up, she spun to her love, and shouted.

"Hashirama!" She watched as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, and she gave him a heartbreaking smile. "I love you, so much!"

His face first showed confusion, then overwhelming realisation that hit him like a one of the great tails. He started to shout in denial, but was too late.

She turned back, and flowed chakra through the seal on her stomach. An eerie, high pitched thrumming filled the air, and even the nine tails fell silent. She put out her hand, almost casually. Sending one last, heartfelt prayer for her husband and son, she laid her hand on the acidic fur.

Overwhelming clarity filled her mind, and she opened her eyes lazily, wondering absently when they had closed. She cringed at the wailing sound she could hear, and wondered where it was coming from. It was so loud! Really, who was making that sou-

When the sudden tsunami of pain flooded through her system, she understood.

It was _her._

She managed to pull her hand back from where it had been slowly dissolving and gripped her stomach with reckless strength.

It was excruciating. The pain teased every nerves, every orifice in her body sent a signal to her brain to stop. It was too much. She could feel her baby complain just as much as she was, and pleaded that he wasn't feeling this. This physical pain was absolutely _nothing_, compared to the thought she might be putting her little darling through the same. She wouldn't be able to live with herself.

She could _feel _the essence of the fox enter her stomach, and felt the space it was creating in her mind be forced bigger. More room was needed, more room. There was no more room, so more room would be made. It felt as if someone was slowly driving thousands of senbon into her brain, and she felt dead. The flames of pain grew hotter, and she knew the exact moment when she lost control of herself.

The cold around her body was distinct in comparison to the burning within. The horrid thing was, she instinctively knew that only three tails had been transferred. Oh god. But she had no idea what the iciness was, or what it was coming from. It did nothing to sooth, however, only added to the unpleasantness. It was ten seconds of withering within her own mind when she noticed she could no longer distinguish between hot and cold. Just pain. Everything was pain.

She could no longer feel her baby.

She despaired of his fate, and hoped with everything she was that she had simply numbed out all sensations, including the nudging that usually came from him. He couldn't be gone. He _wasn't_. He was fine, this was all her.

When, suddenly, she got a tight, cloying feeling in her chest, she knew what the cold was.

_Water._

She had let go of her water walking chakra, and had fallen in.

How… anticlimactic. She was dying, of drowning. It was, at that particular moment, hilarious. Stupid. Such a common thing, and she was victim of it. She had hoped she would have died of old age, but that didn't seem to be happening. Pity.

She no longer had it within herself to care. Everything was gone. Even the pain. All sensations and emotions, _human _things, were gone. Was she dead? It felt like it. She wasn't content, but she wasn't discontent. She was… nothing. It wasn't darkness around her, because there had to be light for there to be dark, and there was none of either.

She did, however, notice as her memories drifted away. Who… who was that man? The one… the one with…

She no longer knew.

Why was she here? Wasn't she doing… Something… Important?

She no longer cared.

There was something vital for her in her own body, something that needed her, but she couldn't remember.

Who was she?

Was her eyes open or closed? She couldn't feel them. There wasn't anything to see. She couldn't tell. But it didn't matter. Nothing matter. She could feel as she slowly disappeared.

Suddenly, the vanishing stopped. What? She asked herself.

There was a very, very tiny flicker at the back of her mind, a small flash of something. Someone calling 'Mito'. Who is Mito?

It happened again, louder, and she got the impression of red. A crimson red that she had no idea was that, but something in her mind told her. Hair. It was hair.

What was hair?

The voice, even louder, shouted again. That name – her mind told her it was a name – 'Mito'. This time, they also said 'come back'. Come… back? From where. She suddenly got the idea of a large area of moving blue. Warmth – what was that? – against her skin. She felt a rush of… something through her chest. It was a pleasant thing, that blue area. But… not what – she? – wanted. It was something – someone? – else she needed. She got the idea of, brown. Silky, warm brown that she could run her fingers through – wait, what?

Her mind felt – raw? – and she felt… tired? All these phrases kept coming back to her, filling in the gaps in her speech.

That name kept being called 'Mito, Mito, Mito!' Every time she heard it, something picked away in the back of her mind. It felt like an itch she _needed _to scratch. She went to move her hand to-

Something appeared in front of her, and she gazed at it curiously. It was – peach? – coloured and was shaped oddly. Hmm… It seemed like her eyes were open after all.

"Mito!"

She gasped and screamed as a piercing pain shot through her head and her – hands! Of course her hands! – gripped her head. An odd thing happened, as the feeling of nothingness vanished, and she collapsed into ankle-deep water that glistened eerily in the evening sun. She was standing in a strange sort-of marsh, with reeds and lily-pads all around her. She looked around her frantically, as the voice had vanished, and the feelings and _everything _rushed back to her.

How could she forget? The amazing, loving, kind, wonderful, strong, protective man that she was married to! Hashirama! And her darling beautiful little boy who she hadn't seen yet-

She inhaled sharply and her hands shot to her stomach patting the still present little bump desperately. Nothing. Nothing moved. There was nothing.

Tears filled her eyes as she felt her heart crack. No. No. No!

It couldn't be! She felt the warm tears flow down her cheeks, and began to gulp the air as she panicked.

Time froze. She halted, the tears freezing still on her cheeks.

_Thump! _She watched in awe as her right hand moved very slightly in movement with her stomach.

_Thump! _It happened again.

The tears began to pour again, but this time with a very different motivation.

Oh, thank god! Oh, thank you! She thought fervently, cradling the moving bundle with the tender love befitting only a mother.

She quelled her tears after many minutes, but refused to remove her hands from the baby bump.

No, she still needed to know he would stay there.

She sighed, and pushed herself up with one hand from her place on the wet ground. How strange. And she came out of the water, her kimono – now repaired – dried instantly. Peculiar.

But where was she?

The answer came from a loud roar that came from behind her. She turned around hesitantly, and immediately took a few steps back from the impossibly high cage that stood not ten metres away. The huge, glaring red eye that hovered just behind the bars moved higher until she had to crane her neck to see it. The light change abruptly, and she could simply _see._

It was the fox. All the events that lead up to her almost death – she knew now that was what the nothingness was – rushed back to her, and she gave the demon and impressively strong glare back. It was all his fault she almost killed her baby!

A low, gruff but loud chuckle echoed across the marsh, and she took another few steps back.

"I know not what you are glaring at me like that for, insect, but you should be grateful." The booming voice had the intended effect, and chills ran up Mito's spine as she gripped her bump.

She took a few minutes to reassure herself that if the fox was here, then this must be her mind – where she had the power. She swallowed, and spoke in a loud, commanding voice. Her 'Lady of the Clan' voice.

"And to what do I owe you _any _gratitude, demon?"

The chuckle ran out again. "I brought you back from the cusp of death. You are in my debt."

She was silenced. The demon brought her back? She… was she in its debt? How could she be in the debt of a monster?

But then, she heard the voice again.

"Mito! Come back!"

It was Hashirama!

She sniffed and looked haughtily at the creature. "You are disgusting, demon." She shook her head and laughed. "It wasn't _you _who brought me back!"

The fox growled. "Foolish insect! You know nothing!

She gave it a glare filled with all the hatred and anger and sheer _rage _that had just bubbled up and let loose.

"I'm in no debt to you, demon! It wasn't you at all!" She gave a smile full of all the love she had. "It was Hashirama who brought me back! I heard him, and he brought me back! Because he loved me, and the love I have for him, even death couldn't separate us! But you wouldn't understand that! Because you can't! I love him, and my darling baby with all that I am!" She suddenly went quiet.

"And you will never understand that. You think we as humans are weak, don't you? You think we can be easily manipulated into doing the whims of you and other demons, but you are wrong. I will not be manipulated. You are imprisoned inside _me_, and I'm in charge here."

A deafening roar filled her mind, and she had to cover her ears. The water around her rippled and moved as if pushed by a strong wind and she let out a deep breath when it ended. Her ears were ringing as the fox began to rant.

"How dare you, you impudent insect! I will tear you apart!" A claw shot out of the cage as she scrambled back as fast as she could. It barely missed.

The screaming and shouting of the demon continued, and she noticed most of it centred on how it would eat her when she escaped.

Deciding that to leave now would be the sensible choice; she looked around her, picked a direction, and began to walk. She stepped slowly through the reeds, blinking in surprise when a frog jumped past her. If this was her mind, how were there animals? Strange.

The water held no resistance, and she walked and walked towards the 'sun' until she could barely hear the demon. Still, her surrounding had barely changed, and it was disorientating. Was the whole world this marshland?

She saw another large rock a small distance away, and decided to sit on it. She climbed carefully onto the stone when she reached it, and realised it was much bigger than she thought. However, there was foot holes in all the right places; confirming her knowledge that this was her mind. After all only in her mind would there be a landscape so compatible to her body's limits.

She settled on the stone, and with her hands resting on her stomach, relaxed. She looked around, and noticed with some awe that the 'sun' was setting. Perhaps this mirrored the real world?

She looked at the empty space beside her, and loneliness swept through her. Hashirama? Was he even alive? How she wished, hoped. And if he was, how would she get back to him? She needed him. She hadn't slept without him at her side in almost four years – since their marriage – and she wasn't sure she could now. Even when he had gone on missions, he had only been gone the day, and had returned by nightfall. It hurt. There would be no arms to hold her and keep her warm. No long hair that melted and tangled with her own, hair that she would brush off her face in the morning with a fond smile on her lips. She wrapped her arms around her baby in a fashion that resembled a hug, and seemed to grow smaller. She felt so… alone.

She rolled onto her side, and almost rolled her eyes at the way the rock seemed to adjust its shape and grow softer. Her mind indeed.

The 'sun' set completely, and she noticed the way she could no longer hear the fox and that a spooky silvery blanket had fallen over everything – even her own skin. It was the 'moon'. She rolled onto her other side, and looked up. There it was; the mysterious orb floated high in the 'sky'. She felt a tear roll down her left cheek. The last time she had lain under the moon like this was when her and her husband had left the village for some private time at a deep, hidden place within the Senju forest. She and Hashirama had lain there, sated and comfortable as a warm breeze had flown over them. He had held her in his arms, and she had held onto his hands as the moon lulled them both to sleep within the soft, lush foliage. She had fallen pregnant that night.

Her grip on her son turned to steel as he moved in her stomach, getting comfortable in nature's cradle. She let out a sob, and curled up.

She wanted to go home.

**-xXXxXXxXXxXXxXXx-**

Awareness flooded back to her, and she could feel her nerves reconnect. For some reason, she felt stiff and sore, but thought nothing of it. She moved very slightly, afraid to open her eyes and still see the overgrown marshland she had awoken to yesterday. By the gods, she prayed.

But, as she moved, she felt strange. That was _not _the stone she had fallen asleep on yesterday. In fact it felt, rather, soft. Like a blanket. Like her _bed_. She dared to hope as she peaked through her eyelids.

Light attacked her eyes, and she closed them again quickly. That hadn't been nice. She tried again, and this time allowed her retinas time to adjust to the change in light intensity. She saw a wooden, panelled roof, and blinked a couple of times to see if it was true. That was… her bedroom roof. Was she… home?

She turned her head, ignoring the pain in her neck, and looked to her left. Nothing. Hashirama's side of the bed was empty. Gods no. She clamped down on the hysteria, and slowly creaked her head to the opposite side. On the way, she saw and felt her stomach moving, reassuring her of her little darling's health and wellbeing. Now to see to her husband's. The man who she needed to survive.

Her eyes fell upon a figure lying sleeping on a wooden chair that grew directly from the floor. He was leaning back against it awkwardly, and his neck was bent at an odd angle. Her eyes grew watery as she looked at him, and she covered her mouth with her hand, while the other travelled south to cling to her son. He, even before he was born, had become her other lifeline.

Her other half was… like one of the undead, Mito would have thought had she been of her normal temperament. But now, regarding the circumstances, she couldn't even bare to think about it. This man had become so dear to her, ever since that once hated now coveted day when she had met him for the first time. She had always loved him, even if she had once hidden it. It had been hatred of the fact she no longer had a choice of husband, rather than the man she was marrying. No, she had loved him.

And she always would.

His hair was knotted, that beautiful hair she loved to sink into was knotted and dirty. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes, and his face looked tense even in sleep. He was wearing a simple dark outfit, his haori showing the bloodstained bandages on his arms. A mostly healed scratch showed itself on his cheek, and she absently wondered how long she had been unconscious. His face was gaunt, and he looked half-starved.

She struggled to sit up, her muscles screaming in protest. Eventually she managed it, and held herself up with her right hand. She continued to watch her sleeping husband, drinking in his form after what seemed like such a long time apart. She longed for his eyes to open, to see her awake so they could embrace and she could lose herself simply in his presence, but she didn't attempt to wake him. He looked so forlorn, so empty even in what looked to be much needed sleep she didn't dare to interrupt his slumber.

She watched him intently, her eyes never leaving his face as she held their baby tenderly. Half her, half Hashirama. She couldn't wait to see if he was a perfect melding of them both, or if he had gained his father's looks. How she hoped he had. Her son would be so beautiful, no matter what. Their son. Their sun.

She almost jumped when he moved very slightly, and froze at another movement. Was he waking up? Oh god, please let him be waking!

She felt a tickle in her throat, and suppressed the urge to cough as her gorgeous husband returned to the world of the living. She knew the exactly movement when he woke, as his face muscles tensed and his face moulded into an almost-frown. She held her breath, waiting for his eyes to open, as hers once again filled with water. Goodness, all the crying she was doing lately…

Her tear ducts overflowed and the world became blurred as she cried silently. Gods, she loved him so much.

She wiped away the traitorous tears as she kept her eyes on him. His eyes slowly slid open, but the tears kept coming.

Hashirama's eyes slipped open, as the hopelessness and pain washed over him. Along with the hope. The hope that they were alright. His precious wife and soon-to-be son. The ones closest to his heart. She had been in a coma for the last sixteen days, and the medical shinobi had declared her as one of what they call the 'living dead'. Those whose bodies' were still in working order, yet there was no brain activity. They said the demon's chakra had burned out her coils, yet they had healed again two days after the incident. They said the demon was keeping Mito's body alive for its own purposes, for if she died, so would it. They hadn't done a full body scan for almost ten days, as the medics had said it was pointless.

They also said it was unlikely she would wake up. Tobirama had told him later that he had fainted when they said that, and he had never been more thankful of his younger brother than now. The silver haired man had kept him afloat these last few days, saying the medical arts were little more than experimentation at the present time, and couldn't really be relied on for anything more than healing minor battle wounds. Hashirama imagined Mito would have walloped his brother over the head for that, but as she was absent he did it for her. Tobirama hadn't complained.

The other thing that had almost killed him had been when they said they couldn't feel the baby. They had said so with solemnity, but it didn't stop him from leaving the room in a whirl of black cloth. He had stormed to his and Mito's shared room, grew a chair and sat down on it. That had been two weeks ago. He hadn't moved an inch since then, and everyone but Tobirama had given up on getting him to move.

"_Get up brother!"_

"_You can't stay here, you stupid person!"_

"_You have to eat something; Mito won't want a scrawny man in her bed when she wakes!"_

"… _She wouldn't have wanted this brother."_

When Tobirama had begun to refer to her in the past tense, Hashirama had died a little inside. Tobirama was one of his wife's self declared best friends, and to have him accept she wasn't coming back had been a striking blow to him. Was it really that hopeless? Was she… not coming back?

He opened his eyes fully, and stared straight in front of him. Oh. He hadn't woken up yet. He thought he had. For his wife was sitting on the bed in front of him, holding their child tightly, with tears falling like rain. He frowned. Usually Mito was smiling in his dreams. Usually, it was memories he relived when he slept, but he had never remembered this happening. She hadn't cried since her friend Mika's funeral, and that had been almost a year ago.

Was he imagining her now too? He didn't think he could bare that. For he could never imagine her perfectly. She would always be flawed in his imagination in a way she most definitely wasn't in real life.

She sat up from his slouch, and winced at the crack his neck made. He saw that she also winced, and her hand that wasn't holding their son trembled. He stared at her intently, confused, but also, deep inside he battered on the hope that fluttered like a monstrous butterfly upon his heart. Could it be…?

"M-Mito?" His voice was hoarse from disuse and lack of water – the only thing Tobirama had been able to get down his throat every few days – and broke in the middle of her name. He kept his eyes locked on her, roaming the length of her and back. She looked exhausted, but healthy – due to the food the medics piped directly to her stomach. Her eyes were red, and the tears hadn't stopped yet.

She tried to give him a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. She wanted so badly to leap up and jump into his arms, but he looked so confused. What was wrong with him?

"H-H-Hashir-rama." Her voice was thick with sleep, but adrenaline was pumping through her veins. "A-are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She had to ask him. Please let him be okay. Please, please, please.

His face crumpled, and she felt her emotions hit the roof.

"Please – is it really you Mito?" His voice was quiet, but saddened, as if expecting the worse. Oh my – he thought she wasn't real. Dear god.

"It's me, Hashi. It's me and our little one." She gulped and sniffed. Tears were clouding her vision, and she could no longer see any of him but a blur. "I'm alright."

She felt a hand touch her cheek and wipe away the tears there. It moved up, and a cloth wiped over her eyes, the water soaking into the material. The gesture was repeated on the opposite one, and she could see it was him, using his sleeve. She watched as he slowly stood up, even in his current state towering over her, and sat down at her side. The bed sunk with his weight, and she gazed deep into his warm brown eyes, sinking into his soul.

They were but a foot apart, and with an unseen signal, his arms were flung around her, pressing her to his chest, to his very essence. She returned it almost immediately, and squeezed as tight as she could, burrowing herself into his chest. She began to sob, loudly, but cared not that they were muffled against his chest. She felt his warmth surround her, and revelled in it. She was here, with him. She was home.

Their baby kicked against her stomach, almost joining in the family reunion. A reunion that had been caused by a separation in spirit, rather than in body.

She heard him mumbling, and focussed on his words.

"I thought I lost you." She felt guilty swamp her as his words registered.

"Y-You almost did. I almost let go. I had forgotten you, our son, everything. I was no one. But then I heard you. You shouted my name, for me to come back. I came back, Hashirama! I came back!"

Her sobs grew louder, and he nuzzled her hair, inhaling her scent deeply. He pushed her back slightly, ignoring her hysterical groan at the seeming rejection, and looked fiercely into her eyes.

"But you came back. You came back for me, and our son. I love you, my Uzumaki princess. I love you."

She didn't get a chance to reply as her lips were captured in a devastating and overpowering kiss that she would remember for a lifetime.

**Wow… that's got to be the longest one-shot I've ever done. I pray it is well received, as I really worked hard on this. The elements of her 'almost-death' is mostly composed of my own beliefs. I'm quite depressing, and believe there is no afterlife, even if I wish there were one. Hope this tugs on some heartstrings!**

**Any questions, just ask.**

**x**


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